UNIVERSITY   OF   CALIFORNIA 

COLLEGE   OF   AGRICULTURE 

AGRICULTURAL   EXPERIMENT   STATION 

BERKELEY,  CALIFORNIA 


SERIES  ON  CALIFORNIA  CROPS  AND  PRICES 

GRAPEFRUIT 


H.  R.  WELLMAN  AND  E.  W.  BRAUN 


BULLETIN  463 

December,  1928 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  PRINTING  OFFICE 

BERKELEY,  CALIFORNIA 

1928 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Summary 3 

Acreage    ; 6 

United  States  acreage  of  grapefruit 6 

Grapefruit  acreage  by  counties  in  California 9 

Carlot  Shipments 10 

Trend   of   shipments 10 

Seasonal  variation  in  shipments 13 

Important   Markets   16 

Consumption 18 

Canned    Grapefruit 19 

Prices 20 

Trend  of  prices 20 

Factors    affecting    prices 21 

Seasonal  variation  in  prices 24 

United   States   Foreign   Trade 25 

Imports    25 


Exports 


Acknowledgments 30 

Appendix   of   tables 31 


GRAPEFRUIT 

H.  K.  WELLMANi  and  E.  W.  BRAUN* 


SUMMARY 


The  commercial  production  of  grapefruit  in  the  United  States  is 
confined  to  the  four  states  of  Florida,  California,  Texas,  and  Arizona. 
At  the  present  time  Florida  is  by  far  the  most  important  of  these 
four  states  in  quantity  of  production.  Over  90  per  cent  of  the  total 
carlot  shipments  in  the  United  States  in  1926-27  originated  in 
Florida.  Texas  and  California  each  supplied  less  than  -i  per  cent 
of  the  total;  while  only  1  per  cent  came  from  Arizona. 

Each  of  the  four  grapefruit-producing  states  has  experienced  a 
substantial  increase  in  bearing  acreage,  production,  and  shipments 
during  recent  years,  and  it  is  likely  that  this  expansion  will  continue 
during  the  next  few  years. 

In  Florida  the  bearing  acreage  was  trebled  between  1919  and  1928. 
Shipments  also  increased  rapidly  up  to  1925,  but  since  then  they  have 
been  considerably  below  normal  because  of  the  unfavorable  conditions 
in  that  state.  The  low  crop  in  1925-26  was  a  result  of  neglect  arising 
out  of  the  real  estate  boom;  the  1926-27  crop  was  injured  by  frost 
and  hurricane;  and  the  1927-28  crop,  by  frost  and  drought. 

These  unfavorable  conditions,  however,  should  not  be  expected 
to  continue,  in  which  case  the  yield  per  acre  will  be  substantially 
higher.  Furthermore,  an  additional  increase  in  the  yield  per  acre 
may  be  expected  as  the  present  bearing  trees  become  older,  since  a 
considerable  proportion  of  those  now  in  bearing  have  not  yet  reached 
the  age  of  full  bearing.  In  addition  to  a  larger  yield  per  acre,  it  is 
expected  that  there  will  be  some  increase  in  the  bearing  acreage.  As 
a  result  of  these  two  factors,  increased  yield  and  increased  bearing 
acreage,  the  production  of  grapefruit  in  Florida  is  likely  to  be  much 
larger  during  the  next  few  years  than  it  has  been  in  the  past. 

The  future  rate  of  increase  in  grapefruit  production  in  Texas  is 
likely  to  be  even  larger  than  in  Florida.  Texas  has  only  recently 
become  an  important  factor  in  the  grapefruit  situation.  In  the  past 
few  years  the  expansion  in  that  state  has  been  very  rapid.  In  1921-22 
only  eight  cars  of  grapefruit  were  shipped  from  Texas;  this  season 
(1927-28)  over  1,000  cars  have  been  shipped.  Plantings  of  grape- 
fruit in  Texas  during  recent  years  have  been  very  large.    According 


i  Extension   Specialist  in   Agricultural   Economics. 
2  Extension   Specialist   in  Agricultural  Economics. 


4  UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA EXPERIMENT  STATION 

to  a  recent  census  there  were  34,440  acres  of  grapefruit  in  the  lower 
Rie  Grande  Valley  of  Texas  in  1928,  only  14  per  cent  of  which  were 
in  bearing. 

As  yet  Arizona  has  not  been  an  important  factor  in  grapefruit 
production,  but  she  is  likely  to  become  so  very  shortly.  Less  than 
one-half  of  the  3,800  acres  of  grapefruit  in  that  state  is  not  yet  in 
bearing,  and  a  much  larger  proportion  has  not  reached  the  age  of 
full  bearing.  Furthermore,  heavy  plantings  are  in  prospect  during 
the  next  few  years. 

The  bearing  acreage  of  grapefruit  in  California  has  increased 
79  per  cent  in  the  past  three  years,  and  the  large  non-bearing  acreage 
indicates  that  there  will  be  a  further  substantial  increase  during  the 
next  few  years.  Most  of  the  recent  plantings  of  grapefruit  in  this 
state  have  been  made  in  the  Imperial  Valley.  In  1921  Imperial 
County  contained  only  3  per  cent  of  the  total  bearing  acreage  in  the 
state;  by  1928  it  contained  47  per  cent  of  the  total  bearing  acreage 
and  80  per  cent  of  the  total  non-bearing  acreage. 

The  bulk  of  the  grapefruit  produced  in  Imperial  Valley  is  mar- 
keted between  October  and  May.  This  is  also  the  period  when  the 
grapefruit  from  every  other  producing  section  in  the  United  States, 
with  the  single  exception  of  the  southern  district  of  California, 
reaches  the  market.  The  recent  expansion  in  California,  therefore, 
has  been  made  in  a  district  which  ships  grapefruit  at  the  time  when 
the  competition  is  greatest.  The  central  district  of  California  also 
ships  its  grapefruit  during  the  winter  and  spring  months.  On  the 
other  hand,  the  southern  district  ships  the  bulk  of  its  crop  during 
the  summer  months.  Consequently,  it  has  not  had  to  meet  such  in- 
tense competition,  and  as  a  result  the  prices  received  have  been  higher 
on  the  average. 

Beginning  with  the  1924-25  season  and  including  the  1927-28 
season,  California  grapefruit  growers  have  enjoyed  four  years  of 
high  prices.  These  high  prices  were  the  result  of  several  conditions : 
the  demand  for  grapefruit  has  increased  steadily;  the  supplies  of 
grapefruit  have  been  below  normal ;  and  the  total  winter  orange  crop 
has  been  short  for  four  successive  years. 

The  increase  in  the  demand  for  grapefruit  seems  to  be  of  a  perma- 
nent character.  The  per  capita  consumption  of  grapefruit  in  the 
United  States  increased  almost  40  per  cent  from  1920-21  to  1923-24, 
although  prices  did  not  decline.  During  the  two  years  of  1925-26  and 
1926-27  the  per  capita  consumption  averaged  12  per  cent  below  that 
of  1923-24  because  of  the  low  supplies  in  this  country.  Prices  during 
these  two  years,  however,  averaged  25  per  cent  higher  than  in  1923-24. 


BUL.  463]  GRAPEFRUIT  5 

The  subnormal  conditions  in  Florida  during  the  past  few  years 
affected  the  winter  orange  supplies  as  well  as  the  grapefruit  supplies. 
Since  oranges  compete  directly  with  grapefruit  in  the  consuming 
markets,  the  small  crops  of  oranges  in  Florida  greatly  reduced  the 
competition  which  grapefruit  would  otherwise  have  experienced. 

Foreign  markets  have  offered  an  outlet  for  increased  supplies  of 
grapefruit  during  recent  years.  At  the  present  time  Canada  and 
the  United  Kingdom  are  our  principal  foreign  markets.  The  con- 
sumption of  grapefruit  in  the  United  Kingdom  has  increased  rapidly 
since  the  war.  According  to  official  statistics  the  United  Kingdom 
imported  only  40,000  boxes  of  grapefruit  in  1921  as  against  700,000 
boxes  in  1927.  Over  80  per  cent  of  the  British  imports  in  1927  were 
reported  as  coming  from  the  United  States.  The  United  Kingdom 
also  receives  grapefruit  from  the  British  West  Indies,  the  Union  of 
South  Africa,  and  Cuba.  There  will  very  likely  be  a  further  increase 
in  the  demand  for  grapefruit  in  the  United  Kingdom.  The  per  capita 
consumption  in  that  country  in  1927  amounted  to  only  1  grapefruit, 
whereas  the  per  capita  consumption  in  the  United  States  amounted 
to  4.5  grapefruits.  It  is  questionable,  however,  if  the  increase  in 
the  demand  in  the  United  Kingdom  will  be  sufficient  at  the  present 
level  of  prices  to  provide  an  outlet  for  more  than  a  small  part  of  the 
probable  increase  in  our  production. 

What  of  the  Future. — The  available  facts  indicate  that  California 
grapefruit  growers  are  likely  to  experience  much  greater  competition 
during  the  winter  months  in  the  coming  years  than  they  have  in  the 
past  few  years.  With  the  return  to  normal  conditions  in  Florida, 
it  is  expected  that  the  supplies  of  both  grapefruit  and  winter  oranges 
from  that  state  will  be  substantially  larger.  In  addition  the  larger 
shipments  of  grapefruit  from  Texas,  Arizona,  and  California  will 
probably  add  greatly  to  the  future  supplies.  Some  further  increase 
in  the  demand  for  grapefruit,  both  here  and  abroad,  may  be  expected, 
but  it  is  doubtful  if  the  demand  will  be  increased  as  rapidly  as  sup- 
plies are  likely  to  increase.  In  view  of  the  probable  developments 
during  the  next  few  years,  it  does  not  appear  likely  that  the  present 
high  level  of  prices  in  the  winter  months  can  be  maintained. 

Growers  of  summer  grapefruit,  however,  are  in  a  more  favorable 
position.  In  recent  years  there  have  been  practically  no  plantings 
of  grapefruit  in  sections  which  ship  during  the  summer  months. 
Consequently,  the  supplies  of  fresh  summer  grapefruit  are  not  likely 
to  be  increased.  On  the  other  hand,  if  a  very  large  expansion  in 
the  canning  of  grapefruit  occurs,  it  will  tend  to  extend  the  marketing 
season  for  winter  grapefruit  into  the  summer  months. 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA EXPERIMENT  STATION 


ACREAGE 

United  States  Acreage  of  Grapefruit. — The  four  main  grapefruit- 
producing  states  of  the  Union  are  Florida,  California,  Texas,  and 
Arizona.  In  1924  these  four  states  contained  a  total  of  66,445  acres, 
of  which  89.4  per  cent  were  in  Florida,  6.3  per  cent  in  California, 
3.4  per  cent  in  Texas,  and  0.9  per  cent  in  Arizona. 

TABLE  1 

Estimated  Bearing  Acreage  of  Grapefruit,  United  States  by  States, 

1919-1928 


Year 

California 

Florida 

Texas 

Arizona 

1919 
1920 

acres 
2,568 
3,109 
3,642 
3,935 
4,067 
4,205 
4,379 
4,972 
6,223 
7,828 

acres 
33,600 
41,000 
47,000 
51,000 
53,000 
59,400 
56,800 
61,700 
89,100 
103,800 _ 

acres 
80 

acres 
270 
310 

1921 

360 

1922 

370 

1923 

370 

1924 
1925 

2,280 

560 

1926 

1927 

1928 

4,840* 

1,600 

*  Includes  only  the  acreage  in  the  Lower  Rio  Grande  Valley,  which  is  the  most  important  grapefruit 
producing  section  in  the  state.  The  acreage  in  the  Laredo-Pearsall-Winter  Garden  section  is  relatively 
small. 

Sources  of  data:  California  from  California  Cooperative  Crop  Reporting  Ser- 
vice (revised  figures).  Other  states  from  U.  S.  Dept.  Agr.  Bur.  Agr.  Econ. 
Market  prospects  for  citrus  fruits,  1927-28,  p.  2,  1927  (mimeo.)  except  as  fol- 
lows: 1927  data  for  Florida  from  the  State  Census  for  1926-27  as  reported  in  a 
letter  to  the  writers  from  Joseph  A.  Beecher,  Bur.  Agr.  Econ.  U.  S.  Dept.  Agr. 
dated  August  3,  1928.  This  figure  is  considerably  larger  than  the  estimate  of 
H.  A.  Marks,  Agricultural  Statistician  for  Florida,  which  amounted  to  65,900 
acres.  1928  data  for  Florida  from  State  Plant  Board  of  Florida,  The  Monthly 
Bulletin,  13(2)  :25,  1928.  This  report  states  "While  these  figures  are  the  result 
of  an  actual  count  and,  therefore,  present  the  most  complete  and  accurate  statis- 
tics obtainable,  it  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  time  consumed  in  completing 
this  state-wide  inspection  was  three  years.  .  .  .  All  trees  under  four  years  of  age 
at  the  time  of  inspection  were  reported  as  non-bearing  and  those  over  four  years 
as  bearing.  While  a  tree  four  years  old  can  hardly  be  classed  as  full  bearing,  it 
must  be  remembered  that  trees  which  were  four  years  old  in  1925  and  1926  are 
six  and  seven  years  old  at  the  present  time,  so  that  the  proportions  of  bearing 
and  non-bearing  trees  should  prove  acceptable." 

1924  data  for  Texas  from  U.  S.  Census  of  Agriculture,  1925,  part  2,  p.  1206. 

1928  data  for  Texas  from  U.  S.  Dept.  Agr.  Plant  Quarantine  and  Control 
Administration.  Citrus  census  of  the  Lower  Rio  Grande  Vallev  of  Texas  as  of 
July  1,  1928  (mimeo.). 

1928  data  for  Arizona  from  C.  H.  Coulson,  Assistant  County  Agent,  Phoenix, 
Arizona,  in  letter  dated  Aug.  4,  1928. 

All  data  except  for  California  were  given  in  number  of  trees.  In  Florida  the 
number  of  trees  was  converted  to  acres  on  the  basis  of  50  trees  per  acre;  and  in 
Texas  and  Arizona,  on  the  basis  of  70  trees  per  acre. 

Data  are  not  available  where  omitted. 


BUL.  463]  GRAPEFRUIT  7 

The  changes  in  the  estimated  bearing  acreage  in  each  of  the  four 
states  since  1919  are  shown  in  table  1.  All  of  them  have  experienced 
a  substantial  increase,  and  indications  point  to  a  still  further  increase 
during  the  next  few  years. 

In  Florida  the  bearing  acreage  increased  from  33,600  acres  in 
1919  to  59,400  acres  in  1924.  The  following  year  there  was  a  slight 
decline  which  was  probably  a  result  of  the  real  estate  boom.  Since 
1925,  however,  there  has  been  a  phenomenal  expansion.  In  1926  the 
bearing  acreage  amounted  to  61,700  acres,  and  in  1928  to  103,800 
acres.  According  to  these  figures,  therefore,  the  bearing  acreage  of 
grapefruit  in  Florida  has  been  more  than  trebled  since  1919  and 
almost  doubled  since  1924.  It  is  evident  that  a  considerable  propor- 
tion of  the  present  bearing  acreage  has  not  yet  reached  the  age  of 
full  bearing  and  that  the  full  effects  of  the  increase  in  acreage  upon 
production  have  not  yet  been  felt. 

The  present  non-bearing  acreage  in  Florida  is  estimated  at  about 
8,000  acres.3  We  may  expect,  therefore,  a  further  increase  in  bearing 
acreage  in  Florida  during  the  next  few  years,  although  the  amount 
of  increase  will  be  small  as  compared  with  that  of  the  past  few  years. 

Texas  has  only  recently  become  an  important  factor  in  the  grape- 
fruit situation  in  the  United  States.  In  1919  there  were  only  80  acres 
of  grapefruit  in  bearing  in  Texas.  By  1921  the  bearing  acreage  had 
increased  to  2,280  acres  and  by  1928  to  about  5,000  acres.  The 
absolute  increase,  however,  has  been  small  as  compared  with  the  prob- 
able increase  during  the  next  five  years.  According  to  a  census  taken 
in  the  summer  of  1928,  there  were  29,500  acres  of  non-bearing  grape- 
fruit trees  in  the  Lower  Rio  Grande  Valley,  which  is  the  principal 
grapefruit  producing  section  in  Texas.4  The  census  also  reported  the 
age  distribution  of  the  young  trees.  Of  the  29,500  acres  not  in 
bearing  in  1928,  45  per  cent  were  planted  in  1927-28;  22  per  cent 
in  1926-27 ;  14  per  cent  in  1925-26 ;  12  per  cent  in  1924-25 ;  and  7 
per  cent  in  1923-24.  There  is  also  a  relatively  small  acreage  of 
grapefruit  in  the  Laredo-Pearsall-Winter  Garden  section,  most  of 
which  has  been  planted  in  the  past  three  years.5 

The  bearing  acreage  of  grapefruit  in  Arizona  increased  from  270 
acres  in  1919  to  1,600  acres  in  1926.    The  present  non-bearing  acreage 

3  State  Plant  Board  of  Florida,  The  Monthly  Bulletin.     13(2)  :25.     1928. 

4  U.  S.  Dept.  Agr.  Plant  Quarantine  and  Control  Administration.  Citrus 
Census  of  the  Lower  Eio  Grande  Valley  of  Texas  as  of  July  1,  1928  (mimeo.). 
The  census  reported  the  number  of  trees  which  were  converted  to  acres  on  the 
basis  of  70  trees  per  acre.  All  trees  less  than  five  years  of  age  were  classed  as 
non-bearing. 

s  U.  S.  Dept.  Agr.  Bur.  Agr.  Econ.  Market  prospects  for  citrus  fruits,  1027- 
28,  p.  9   (mimeo.).     1927. 


8 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA EXPERIMENT   STATION 


in  that  state  is  estimated  to  be  2,200  acres.6  It  appears,  therefore, 
that  the  bearing  acreage  in  Arizona  may  be  more  than  doubled  within 
the  next  five  years.  Most  of  the  recent  plantings  in  Arizona  have 
been  made  in  the  Salt  River  Valley.  Only  a  very  small  part  of  that 
district  that  is  suitable  to  grapefruit  has  been  planted,  however, 
according  to  C.  H.  Coulson,  Assistant  County  Agent  at  Phoenix. 
Several  large  projects  have  recently  been  organized  in  the  Salt  River 
Valley  upon  which  it  is  intended  to  plant  grapefruit.     According  to 


Bearing  Acreage  of  Grapefruit  in  California,  1914-1928 


Acres 


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Fig.  1. — There  has  been  a  substantial  increase  in  the  bearing  acreage  of 
grapefruit  in  California  during  recent  years. 

(Data  from  California  Cooperative  Crop  Reporting  Service.) 


Professor  Robert  W.  Hodgson,  Division  of  Subtropical  Horticulture, 
University  of  California,  the  principal  limiting  factor  at  the  present 
time  is  the  shortage  of  trees.7  As  the  nursery  stock  becomes  available 
it  may  be  expected  that  the  acreage  planted  to  grapefruit  will  be 
greatly  expanded. 

In  California,  estimates  of  bearing  acreage  are  available  for  each 
year  since  1914.  These  data  are  shown  graphically  in  figure  1. 
During  the  first  eight  years  of  the  period  the  bearing  acreage  in- 


6  Coulson,  C.  H.,  Assistant  County  Agent,  Phoenix,  Arizona,  in  letter  to  the 
writers  dated  August  4,  1928. 

7  Shipment  of  citrus  trees  into  Arizona  is  prohibited  by  quarantine  regulations, 
and  consequently  it  is  necessary  to  grow  the  trees  within  the  state. 


Bul.  463] 


GRAPEFRUIT 


9 


creased  rapidly  and  continuously,  rising  from  766  acres  in  1914  to 
3,935  acres  in  1922.  During  the  three  years  following  1922  the 
increase  was  relatively  small.  Then  occurred  a  period  of  very  rapid 
expansion  which  has  not  yet  ended.  From  1925  to  1928  the  bearing 
acreage  was  increased  by  3,449  acres,  which  is  only  164  acres  less 
than  the  total  increase  during  the  previous  ten  years. 

The  present  non-bearing  acreage  of  grapefruit  in  California, 
including  1927  plantings,  amounts  to  4,596  acres.  This  indicates  that 
there  will  be  a  considerable  increase  in  bearing  acreage  during  the 
next  few  years. 

TABLE  2 
Grapefruit  Acreage  by  Counties  in  California,  1921-1928 


Bearing  acreage 

Non- 
bearing 

County 

1921 

1922 

1923 

1924 

1925 

1926 

1927 

1928 

acreage* 
1928 

Butte 

16 
25 

16 

25 

8 

33 

5 

23 

1,171 

230 

378 

57 

431 

1,500 

42 

6 

10 

16 

25 

14 

34 

5 

23 

1,171 

340 

378 

60 

442 

1,500 

42 

7 

10 

16 
25 
20 
40 
5 

23 

1,172 

450 

378 

63 

453 

1,500 

42 

8 

10 

15 

25 

20 

40 

10 

24 

1,175 

500 

475 

85 

450 

1,500 

42 

8 

10 

10 

25 

20 

40 

10 

24 

1,175 

1,038 

484 

112 

474 

1,500 

42 

8 

10 

11 

25 

20 

40 

10 

24 

1,177 

2,289 

517 

42 

464 

1,543 

43 

8 

10 

25 

21 

40 

10 

12 

1,181 

3,679 

512 

93 

559f 

1,543 

135 

8 

10 

33 

5 

23 

1,145 

120 

363 

50 

415 

1,390 

42 

5 

10 

23 

Tulare 

4 

2,500 

46 

51 

433  f 

San  Bernardino.. 

26 
32 

3 

Total 

3,642 

3,935 

4,067 

4,205 

4,379 

4,972 

6,223 

7,828 

3,118 

*  1927  Plantings  of  1,478  acres  not  included. 

t  According  to  A.  E.  Bottel,  Horticultural  Commissioner,  Riverside  County,  132  of  the  559  bearing 
acres  and  418  of  the  433  non-bearing  acres  in  Riverside  County  in  1928  were  in  the  Coachella  Valley,  which 
is  contiguous  to  the  \Tmperialj  Valley. 

Source  of  data:  Compiled  by  N.  I.  Nielsen,  Fruit  Statistician,  California 
Cooperative  Crop  Eeporting  Service. 

Grapefruit  Acreage  by  Counties  in  California. — The  principal 
grapefruit-producing  counties  of  the  state  in  order  of  their  impor- 
tance are  Imperial,  San  Bernardino,  Tulare,  Riverside,  and  Los 
Angeles.  In  1928  these  five  counties  contained  96  per  cent  of  the 
total  bearing  acreage  in  the  state,  and  Imperial  County  alone  con- 
tained 47  per  cent. 

The  changes  in  the  bearing  acreage  of  grapefruit  in  the  various 
counties  of  the  state  from  1921  to  1928  are  shown  in  table  2.  It  will 
be  noted  that  Imperial  County  has  experienced  a  phenomenal  expan- 


10  UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA EXPERIMENT  STATION 

sion.  In  1921  there  were  only  120  acres  of  grapefruit  in  bearing  in 
that  county;  in  1928  there  were  3,679  acres  in  bearing.  Approxi- 
mately 85  per  cent  of  the  total  increase  in  the  bearing  acreage  in 
California  from  1921  to  1928  was  in  this  one  county.  Each  of  the 
other  four  important  grapefruit-producing  counties  has  experienced 
only  a  small  increase  in  bearing  acreage. 

The  last  column  in  table  2,  which  gives  the  non-bearing  acreage 
by  counties,  shows  the  location  of  recent  plantings  of  grapefruit. 
Only  two  counties,  Imperial  and  Riverside,  have  a  sufficiently  large 
non-bearing  acreage  to  be  of  significance.  Of  the  3,118  acres  of 
grapefruit  not  in  bearing  in  1928,  exclusive  of  1927  plantings,  80  per 
cent  were  in  Imperial  County  and  14  per  cent  in  Riverside  County. 
Practically  all  of  the  present  non-bearing  acreage  in  Riverside  County 
is  in  the  Coachella  Valley  which  is  really  a  part  of  the  Imperial  Valley 
basin. 

CARLOT  SHIPMENTS8 

Trend  of  Shipments. — The  carlot  shipments  of  grapefruit  in  the 
United  States  from  1920-21  to  1927-28  are  shown  in  figure  2.  During 
the  first  part  of  this  period  there  was  a  pronounced  upward  trend  in 
shipments.  In  1920-21  shipments  amounted  to  11,626  cars ;  by  1924- 
25  they  had  risen  to  21,202  cars,  an  increase  of  82  per  cent  in  four 
years.  During  the  past  three  years  shipments  have  fluctuated  about 
a  level  considerably  below  that  of  1923-24  and  1924-25.  This  situa- 
tion, however,  is  only  temporary.  The  upward  trend  of  shipments 
such  as  prevailed  between  1920-21  and  1924-25  is  likely  to  be 
resumed  during  the  coming  years. 

The  lower  level  of  shipments  during  the  past  three  years  has  been 
largely  a  result  of  unfavorable  conditions  in  Florida.  Because  of 
the  dominant  position  of  that  state  in  the  grapefruit  industry,  any- 
thing which  affects  production  there  has  a  very  pronounced  influence 
upon  the  entire  national  production.  The  small  crop  in  Florida  in 
1925-26  was  largely  a  result  of  neglect  arising  out  of  the  real  estate 
boom  in  that  state.  During  the  boom  large  acreages  of  grapefruit 
were  subdivided.  Some  orchards  were  actually  taken  out  (see  table 
1).  Many  others  were  not  properly  cared  for,  and  in  particular,  no 
fertilizer  was  applied.  Consequently  the  yields  were  greatly  reduced. 
By  1926-27  the  real  estate  boom  had  subsided,  and  the  orchards  were 
being  brought  back  into  bearing.  In  that  year,  however,  the  crop 
was  damaged  by  a  severe  freeze,  a  hurricane,  and  a  drought.     The 

s  Data  on  carlot  shipments  do  not  include  mixed  car,  boat,  or  truck  shipments. 


Bul.  463] 


GRAPEFRUIT 


11 


1927-23  crop  is  even  smaller  than  the  1926-27  crop.  The  drought, 
which  affected  last  year's  crop  has  continued,  and  in  addition  there 
was  another  severe  freeze  in  Florida  the  early  part  of  1928. 

These  unfavorable  conditions,  however,  cannot  normally  be  ex- 
pected to  continue.  The  freezes  in  1927  and  1928  were  the  most 
severe  since  1917,  and  the  drought  was  the  most  severe  that  has 
occurred  in  a  half-century.  With  reasonably  favorable  conditions  in 
Florida  during  the  next  few  years,  the  yield  per  acre  is  likely  to  be 
much  larger.     The  bearing  acreage  has  increased  steadily  since  1925, 

Carlot  Shipments  of  Grapefruit,  United  States,  1920-21  to  1926-27 


<o 

CO 

CM 

t» 

CM 

^> 

o 

10  CM 

CO 

t- 

o 

O 

to 

o 
o 

U   <0 

■* 

<o 

to 

CM 

lO 

CO 

5h 


iH 

CM 

to 

** 

U3 

to 

t- 

CM 

CM 

CM 

CM 

CM 

CM 

CM 

o> 

o> 

OJ 

a 

OJ 

o> 

O 

Fig.  2. — Carlot  shipments  of  grapefruit  increased  rapidly  from  1920-21  to 
1924-25,  but  since  then  they  have  been  below  normal. 

(Data  from  table  3.      1928  figure  subject  to  revision.) 


and  indications  point  to  a  still  further  increase  in  the  near  future. 
Furthermore,  many  of  the  orchards  have  not  yet  reached  the  age 
of  full  bearing  so  that  there  is  likely  to  be  some  increase  in  the  yield 
per  acre  as  a  result  of  the  increase  in  the  average  age  of  the  trees. 
On  the  other  hand,  a  part  of  the  increase  in  yield  per  acre  may  be 
offset  if  some  of  the  recent  plantings  have  been  made  in  areas  less 
adapted  to  high  production.  Information  on  this  point,  however,  is 
not  available. 

Texas,  Arizona,  and  California  have  also  experienced  an  increase 
in  carlot  shipments  of  grapefruit  during  recent  years  although  the 
actual  increases  in  numbers  of  cars  have  been  small  as  compared  with 


12 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA EXPERIMENT  STATION 


the  increase  in  Florida.  Texas  first  began  to  ship  grapefruit  in 
carlots  in  1921-22,  when  eight  cars  were  shipped.  From  this  small 
beginning  only  seven  years  ago,  shipments  increased  to  over  1,000 
cars  in  1927-28  (table  3),  and  it  is  evident  from  the  reports  on  plant- 
ings in  Texas  that  the  shipments  this  year  are  only  a  fraction  of  what 
is  likely  to  be  shipped  from  that  state  in  the  coming  years. 

In  Arizona  shipments  increased  steadily  from  48  cars  in  1920-21 
to  218  cars  in  1925-26.  Since  then  shipments  have  been  slightly 
smaller.     It  is  not  likely,  however,  that  the  peak  of  shipments  in 


TABLE  3 
Carlot  Shipments  of  Grapefruit  by  States  of  Origin,  1919-20  to  1926-27 


Crop-movement  season* 

October 

State 

1920-21 

1921-22 

1922-23 

1923-24 

1924-25 

1925-26 

1926-27 

to  June 

1927-28t 

California 

Florida 

Texas 

cars 
463 
11,115 

cars 

475 

12,943 

8 

62 

cars 

552 

16,969 

48 

103 

cars 

439 

19,614 

99 

155 

cars 

435 

20,087 

521 

159 

cars 

549 

14,269 

298 

218 

cars 
603 1 
17,272 

747 
210 

cars 

555 

13,874 

1,013 

Arizona 

48 

194 

Total 

11,626 

13,488 

17,672 

20,307 

21,202 

15,334 

18,832f 

15,636 

*  In  Arizona  and  Florida  the  crop-movement  season  begins  September  1,  and  in  California  and 
Texas  it  begins  October  1. 

t  Preliminary — subject  to  revision. 

Sources  of  data:  U.  S.  Dept.  Agr.  Yearbook  of  Agriculture,  1927:843,  1928, 
except  for  California,  which  are  from  table  4.  October  to  June  1927-28  figures 
from  U.  S.  Dept.  Agr.  Bur.  Agr.  Econ.  Crops  and  Markets,  monthly  issues. 

Arizona  has  been  reached.  The  smaller  shipments  last  year  and  this 
year  as  compared  with  1925-26  appear  to  be  a  temporary  and  not  a 
permanent  interruption  of  the  previous  upward  trend. 

Carlot  shipments  of  grapefruit  in  California  amounted  to  463 
cars  in  1920-21  as  against  603  cars  in  1926-27.  Practically  all  of  this 
increase  originated  in  the  Imperial  Valley  (table  4).  In  1920-21 
shipments  from  the  Imperial  Valley  amounted  to  only  16  cars,  or 
less  than  4  per  cent  of  the  total  shipments.  By  1926-27  they  had 
increased  to  147  cars,  which  was  almost  25  per  cent  of  the  total  ship- 
ments. Although  the  shipments  from  Imperial  Valley  are  still  smaller 
than  those  from  the  central  and  southern  districts,9  this  situation  is 


9  The  Imperial  Valley  district  includes  Imperial  County  and  the  Coachella 
Valley  in  Eiverside  County;  the  southern  district,  the  counties  south  of  the 
Tehachapi  with  the  exception  of  Imperial  County  and  the  Coachella  Valley  in 
Eiverside  County;  the  central  district,  the  San  Joaquin  Valley  counties;  and  the 
northern  district,  the  Sacramento  Valley  counties. 


Bul.  463] 


GRAPEFRUIT 


13 


not  likely  to  continue.  There  has  been  practically  no  increase  in 
shipments  from  the  two  latter  districts  during  the  past  six  years,  nor 
is  there  likely  to  be  any  material  increase  during  the  next  few  years. 
There  has  been  no  recent  expansion  in  grapefruit  acreage  in  either 
the  southern  or  the  central  districts.  On  the  other  hand,  there  has 
been  a  very  rapid  expansion  in  the  Imperial  Valley.  As  a  result, 
that  valley  is  soon  likely  to  become  the  most  important  grapefruit- 
producing  district  in  the  state. 


TABLE  4 

Carlot  Shipments  of  Grapefruit  by  Districts  in  California, 
1920-21  to  1926-27 


Crop-movement  season,  October  to  September 

District 

1920-21 

1921-22 

1922-23 

1923-24 

1924-25 

1925-26 

1926-27* 

Northern 

cars 
1 
209 
237 

16 

cars 

cars 

cars 
1 
197 
163 

78 

cars 

cars 

cars 

7 

Central 

Southern 

Imperial  Valley 

226 

212 

37 

222 

278 

52 

213 
164 

58 

240 
212 

97 

177 
272 
147 

Total 

463 

475 

552 

439 

435 

549 

603 

*  Preliminary — subject'to  revision. 

Sources  of  data:  Compiled  from  U.  S.  Dept.  Agr.  Bur.  Agr.  Econ.,  unpublished 
data  (revised),  except  for  9  months  of  January  to  September,  1927,  which  were 
compiled  from:  Yoeman,  Opal  V.  Summary  of  carlot  shipments  of  important 
fruits  and  vegetables  in  California,  Arizona,  and  Nevada,  1927.  U.  S.  Dept.  Agr. 
Bur.  Agr.  Econ.  mimeographed  circular,  1928. 

Seasonal  Variation  in  Shipments. — The  average  seasonal  move- 
ment of  total  carlot  shipments  of  grapefruit  in  the  United  States  is 
shown  in  figure  3.  Although  some  grapefruit  is  shipped  every  month 
in  the  year,  the  bulk  of  the  crop  moves  to  market  during  the  eight 
months  of  October  to  May.  During  the  five  years  of  1922-23  to 
1926-27,  almost  96  per  cent  of  the  total  carlot  shipments  have  been 
shipped  in  this  period.  The  peak  of  shipments  usually  comes  in 
March.  This  peak,  however,  is  not  materially  higher  than  the  ship- 
ments in  either  November,  January,  February,  or  April.  After  May, 
shipments  decline  rapidly,  reaching  a  low  point  in  August.  During 
each  of  the  three  months  of  July,  August,  and  September,  shipments 
have  averaged  less  than  175  cars  a  month ;  whereas  the  shipments  in 
March  have  averaged  almost  2,800  cars. 

The  time  of  the  year  that  each  of  the  four  important  producing 
states  ship  grapefruit  and  the  average  amount  that  has  been  shipped 
each  month  during  the  past  five  years  is  shown  in  table  5. 


14 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA EXPERIMENT  STATION 


Percentage  of  Total  Carlot  Shipments  of  United  States  Grapefruit  Shipped 
by  Months,  Average  1922-23  to  1926-27 


Per     w. 

to 

t- 

to 

o 

o 

• 

CM 

• 

O 

• 

CM 

• 

cent   *" 

to 

o> 

f-l 

i-i 

to 

o> 

CJ 

15 

+.10 

© 

o 

u 

& 

5 
n 

8 

Fig.  3.- 


I 


© 
CO 


-Most  of  the  United  States  grapefruit  crop  is  marketed  between 
October  and  May. 

(Data  from  table   5.) 


TABLE  5 

Monthly   Carlot  Shipments   of   Grapefruit  by   States   of   Origin,   Average 

1922-23  to  1926-27 


Month 

Carlot  shipments 

Percentage  shipped  each  month 

Calif. 

Florida 

Texas 

Arizona 

Total 

Calif. 

Florida 

Texas 

Arizona 

Total 

October 

November 

December 

January 

February 

cars 
29 
49 
50 
44 
43 
53 
36 
42 
41 
54 
49 
24 

cars 

1,285 

2,339 

1,673 

2,532 

2,495 

2,681 

2,395 

1,637 

364 

71 

20 

146 

cars 
18 
77 
69 
73 
56 
31 
17 
1 

cars 
36 
21 
17 
23 
25 
27 
12 
7 

cars 

1,368 

2,486 

1,809 

2,672 

2,619 

2,792 

2,460 

1,687 

406 

125 

69 

174 

per  cent 

5  6 

9.5 

9.7 

8.6 

8.4 
10.3 

7.0 

8.2 

8  0 
10.5 

9.5 

4.7 

per  cent 

7.3 
13.3 

9.5 
14.3 
14  1 
15,2 
13.6 

9.3 

2.1 

0.4 

0  1 

0.8 

per  cent 

5.2 
22.5 
20.1 
21.3 
16.3 

9.0 

5  0 

0  3 

0.3 

per  cent 

20.9 

12.2 

9.9 

13.4 

14  5 

15  7 
7  0 
4.1 

per  cent 
7.3 
13.3 
9.7 
14.3 
14.0 
15.0 

13.2 

9.0 

2.2 

July 

0.7 

0.4 

September 

4 

2.3 

0.9 

Total 

514 

17,638 

343 

172 

18,667 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

Source  of  data:  Compiled  from  table  15. 


Bul.  463] 


GRAPEFRUIT 


15 


The  seasonal  movement  of  Florida's  grapefruit  shipments  con- 
forms fairly  closely  to  the  curve  of  total  United  States  shipments 
shown  in  figure  3.  The  new  crop  in  Florida  begins  to  move  in  Sep- 
tember but  does  not  get  well  under  way  until  October.  Shipments 
increase  very  rapidly  during  October  and  November.  There  is  usually 
some  decline  in  shipments  in  December,  but  during  each  of  the  four 
months  of  January  to  April  shipments  are  generally  larger  than  in 
November.  The  peak  of  shipments  generally  comes  in  March.  By 
the  end  of  June  the  season  is  practically  ended. 

The  shipping  season  in  Arizona  begins  in  September  and  ends 
in  May.  The  heaviest  shipping  months  in  Arizona  are  October,  Janur 
ary,  February,  and  March.  Approximately  65  per  cent  of  the  total 
crop  is  shipped  during  these  four  months,  and  almost  21  per  cent  of 
the  total  in  the  one  month  of  October. 

TABLE  6 

Monthly  Carlot  Shipments  of  Grapefruit,  California  by  Districts, 
Average  1922-23  to  1926-27 


Carlot  shipments 

Percentage  shipped  each  month 

Month 

Central 
district 

Imperial 
Valley 

Southern 
district 

Total 

Central 
district 

Imperial 
Valley 

Southern 
district 

Total 

October 

November 

December 

January 

February 

cars 

24 

29 

30 

28 

27 

28 

16 

12 

6 

1 

3 

6 

cars 
2 
19 
18 
15 
13 
15 
3 
1 

cars 

3 

1 

2 

1 

3 

10 

17 

29 

35 

53 

46 

18 

cars 
29 
49 
50 
44 
43 
53 
36 
42 
41 
54 
49 
24 

per  cent 

11.4 

13.8 

14.3 

13.3 

12.9 

13.3 

7.6 

5.7 

2.9 

.5 

1.4 

2.9 

per  cent 

2.3 

22  1 

20.9 

17.4 

15.2 

17.4 

3.5 

1.2 

per  cent 

1.4 

.4 

.9 

4 

14 

4.6 

7.8 

13.3 

16  1 

24.3 

21  1 

8.3 

per  cent 
5.6 
9.5 
9.7 
8.6 
8.4 

March 

10.3 

April 

May 

7  0 

8.2 

June 

8  0 

July 

10  5 

9.5 

4.7 

Total 

210 

86 

218 

514 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100  0 

Source  of  data:   Compiled  from  table  16. 

In  Texas  the  shipping  season  begins  in  October  and  is  practically 
ended  by  the  last  of  April.  The  peak  of  shipments  in  Texas  comes 
in  November,  although  the  shipments  in  December  and  January  are 
almost  as  large  as  in  November. 

As  contrasted  with  the  situation  in  Florida,  Arizona,  and  Texas, 
the  monthly  carlot  shipments  of  grapefruit  from  California  are  fairly 
uniform  throughout  the  entire  year.  While  our  grapefruit  meets 
with  intense  competition  during  the  months  of  October  to  May  from 


16  UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA — EXPERIMENT  STATION 

that  grown  elsewhere  in  the  United  States,  the  competition  from  June 
to  September  is  much  less. 

Practically  all  of  the  California  shipments  during  the  four  months 
of  June  to  September  originate  in  the  southern  district.  This  district 
ships  the  bulk  of  its  grapefruit  in  the  spring  and  summer  months 
(table  6).  The  Imperial  Valley  and  the  central  district,  on  the  other 
hand,  ship  practically  no  grapefruit  in  the  summer.  The  shipping 
season  in  the  Imperial  Valley  begins  in  October  and  is  ended  in  May. 
The  heaviest  shipments  are  from  November  to  March.  In  the  central 
district  the  new  crop  usually  begins  to  move  the  latter  part  of  Sep- 
tember and  continues  into  June.  Approximately  80  per  cent  of  it, 
however,  is  shipped  during  the  six  months  of  October  to  March. 


IMPORTANT    MARKETS 

Grapefruit  is  widely  distributed  throughout  the  markets  of  the 
United  States.  According  to  figures  collected  by  the  Bureau  of  Agri- 
cultural Economics  of  the  United  States  Department  of  Agriculture, 
Florida  grapefruit  was  shipped  in  carlots  to  407  cities  located  in 
45  states  of  the  Union  and  to  16  cities  in  Canada  during  the  1926-27 
season.  Shipments  from  the  other  producing  states  are  of  course 
much  less  widely  distributed  because  of  the  relatively  small  total 
production. 

The  carlot  unloads  of  grapefruit  in  38  important  cities  of  the 
United  States  during  the  calendar  year  of  1927  are  shown  in  table  7. 
The  two  most  important  markets  for  California  grapefruit  are  San 
Francisco  and  Los  Angeles.  In  1927  these  two  cities  took  two-thirds 
of  California's  total  carlot  shipments.  In  addition  to  the  carlot 
receipts  in  Los  Angeles,  heavy  supplies  were  received  by  truck  from 
the  nearby  producing  sections.  The  volume  of  truck  receipts,  how- 
ever, is  not  available. 

Shipments  of  California  grapefruit  to  eastern  markets  occur 
mainly  during  the  summer  months.  At  that  time  of  the  year  there 
are  practically  no  shipments  from  the  other  grapefruit  producing 
states,  and  the  high  prices  in  the  eastern  markets  resulting  from  the 
short  supplies  enable  California  growers  to  pay  the  transportation 
costs  necessary  to  reach  those  markets.  In  the  winter  months,  how- 
ever, the  eastern  markets  are  largely  supplied  with  grapefruit  from 
Florida  and  Texas.  Those  two  states  are  closer  to  the  eastern  markets 
than  California.  Consequently,  it  is  difficult  for  us  to  compete  with 
them  there.     On  the  other  hand,  California  is  in  a  more  favorable 


Bul.  463] 


GRAPEFRUIT 


17 


position  in  the  markets  west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains.     This  area 
appears  to  be  the  logical  market  for  our  winter  grapefruit. 

Even  in  this  area,  however,  our  wTinter  grapefruit  does  not  escape 
competition.  The  markets  west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  and  particu- 
larly the  markets  in  California  are  more  accessible  to  Arizona  than 
are  the  markets  in  the  eastern  states.     In  1927  Arizona  unloaded 


TABLE  7 
Grapefruit  Unloads  in  38  Cities  by  States  of  Origin,  1927 


Origin  of  unloads 

City 

California 

Florida 

Texas 

Arizona 

Unknown 

Imports 

Total 

cars 

cars 
213 
311 
1,120 
241 
1,706 
272 
488 
213 

43 
136 

45 
624 

19 
116 

37 
217 
394 
248 

cars 

cars 

cars 

cars 

3 

18 
81 

4 
16 

1 
12 

1 

cars 
216 

329 

52 

7 

16 

1 

17 
1 

1,271 

Buffalo,  N.  Y 

253 

Chicago,  111 

4 

1,742 

Cincinnati,  Ohio 

273 

1 

1 
2 

502 

216 

6 

63 
65 
43 
3 
46 

4 

1 

116 

2 
33 

204 

4 
1 

'   7 

4 

97 

661 

Fort  Worth,  Texas  . 

2 

74 

116 

7 

42 

1 

87 

6 

223 

394 

1 
104 

28 

3 
61 

6 

1 

286 

166 

103 

142 

167 

187 

3,106 

49 

90 

974 

385 

141 

153 

103 

Memphis,  Tenn 

3 

7 
44 

1 

2 

148 

175 

231 

New  York,  N.  Y 

12 
3 
1 

2 

2,219 

5,337 

29 
22 

81 

113 

78 
4 

1 

1,054 

389 

11 
4 

306 

35 

1 

1 

1 

8 

162 

157 

San  Francisco,  Calif 

55 

361 

Seattle,  Wash 

174 
45 

40 
291 
115 

123 

272 

5 
13 

2 
3 
4 

216 

Sioux  City,  la 

62 

Spokane,  Wash 

45 

St.  Louis,  Mo 

2 
13 

5 

298 

St.  Paul,  Minn 

128 

Toledo,  Ohio 

4 
3 

127 

Washington,  D.  C 

275 

Total 

581 

13,000 

434 

136 

36 

2,501 

16,688 

Source  of  data:  Bureau  of  Railway  Economics,  Unloads  of  Fresh  Fruits  and 
Vegetables  at  Sixty-six  Important  Consuming  Markets  in  the  United  States.  Bul. 
31:13,  July,  1928, 


18 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA EXPERIMENT  STATION 


61  cars  of  grapefruit  in  Los  Angeles  and  55  cars  in  San  Francisco 
out  of  a  total  shipment  of  263  cars.  Although  grapefruit  produced 
in  Florida  and  Texas  cannot  be  shipped  into  California  because  of 
quarantine  regulations,  it  does  compete  directly  with  out  grapefruit 
in  the  markets  of  the  northwest.  Last  year,  for  example,  174  cars  of 
Florida  grapefruit  were  unloaded  in  Seattle  and  141  cars  in  Portland. 


CONSUMPTION 

There  has  been  a  pronounced  upward  trend  in  the  consumption 
of  grapefruit  in  the  United  States.  The  changes  in  the  estimated 
per  capita  consumption  of  the  fresh  fruit  in  the  United  States  from 
1918-19  to  1926-27  are  shown  in  figure  4.    During  the  first  five  years 


United  States  Per  Capita  Consumption  of  Fresh  Grapefruit,  1919-1927 


©  3 


to 

-# 

io 

<o 

c- 

CM 

CM 

CM 

CM 

CM 

a> 

cn 

CJ 

o> 

o> 

Fig.  4. — There  lias  been  a  pronounced  upward  trend  in  the  per  capita  consumption 

of  grapefruit  in  the  United  States. 

(Data  from  table  9.) 

of  this  period  the  increase  in  per  capita  consumption  was  very  large. 
In  1918-19  the  average  person  in  this  country  ate  2.4  grapefruits; 
the  following  year,  3.7  grapefruits ;  and  in  1923-24,  5.0  grapefruits. 
It  is  particularly  significant  that  this  large  increase  in  per  capita 
consumption  occurred  in  the  absence  of  a  decline  in  prices.  It  means 
that  there  was  a  real  increase  in  the  demand  for  grapefruit. 

During  the  two  years  of  1925-26   and   1926-27   the   per  capita 
consumption  has  amounted  to  only  4.4  grapefruits  on  the  average, 


BUL.  463]  GRAPEFRUIT  19 

which  is  12  per  cent  less  than  the  amount  consumed  in  1923-24. 
The  decline  in  per  capita  consumption,  however,  was  more  than  offset 
by  an  increase  in  prices.  Although  people  bought  12  per  cent 
fewer  grapefruits  these  past  two  years  than  they  did  in  1923-24, 
they  paid  25  per  cent  more  for  each  grapefruit  they  did  buy.  This 
indicates  that  the  increase  in  the  demand  for  grapefruit,  which  was 
so  readily  apparent  between  1918-19  and  1923-24,  has  continued. 


CANNED   GRAPEFRUIT 

The  utilization  of  grapefruit  in  canning  has  only  recently  become 
of  commercial  importance.  According  to  Professor  Robert  W.  Hodg- 
son, Division  of  Subtropical  Horticulture,  University  of  California, 
who  has  made  a  study  of  the  situation  in  Florida,  commercially  suc- 
cessful methods  of  canning  grapefruit  have  been  developed,  and  the 
product  has  been  favorably  received  in  the  markets.  The  canning 
industry  in  Florida  has  only  recently  been  established,  and  in  the 
past  few  years  it  has  been  handicapped  by  short  supplies  and  high 
prices  of  fresh  grapefruit.  Nevertheless,  a  substantial  growth  has 
been  made.  The  Biennial  Census  of  Manufactures  reports  the  canned 
grapefruit  pack  in  1923  as  about  200,000  cases.  In  1926-27  it  had 
increased  to  about  600,000  cases.10 

In  addition  to  the  pack  in  Florida,  relatively  large  supplies  of 
canned  grapefruit  are  received  from  Porto  Rico,  and  the  receipts 
from  Porto  Rico  have  been  increasing  rapidly  (table  10). 

Canned  grapefruit  offers  a  promising  outlet  for  a  part,  but  only 
a  part,  of  the  probable  increase  in  the  nation's  production.  By  can- 
ning it  is  possible  to  extend  throughout  the  entire  year  the  marketing 
season  of  the  large  grapefruit  producing  states.  Canning  also  offers 
an  outlet  for  fruit  which  is  blemished  and  unattractive.  With  the 
limited  experience  that  is  available.it  is  impossible  to  determine  just 
how  much  effect  the  development  of  canning  wTill  have  upon  the 
grapefruit  industry.  It  does  not  appear  reasonable,  however,  to 
expect  that  it  will  provide,  an  outlet  at  the  present  level  of  prices 
for  more  than  a  part  of  the  probable  increase  in  production.  It  must 
be  recognized  that  the  canned  product  comes  in  direct  competition 
with  the  fresh  product  during  the  time  when  the  fresh  product  is 
being  marketed.  Consequently,  the  price  that  can  be  obtained  for 
canned  grapefruit  is  affected  by  the  price  which  consumers  will  pay 
for  fresh  grapefruit. 


io  U.  S.  Dept.  Agr.  Yearbook  of  Agriculture  1927.    p.  183,  1928. 


20 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA EXPERIMENT  STATION 


A  large  increase  in  the  pack  of  canned  grapefruit  is  likely  to  affect 
adversely  the  prices  received  by  California  growers  who  market  their 
grapefruit  during  the  summer  months.  As  it  is  now,  California 
summer  grapefruit  meets  with  practically  no  competition  from  that 
grown  in  other  sections.  But  if  the  canned  pack  is  greatly  increased 
in  will  probably  result  in  considerable  competition  to  our  summer 
fruit. 


Kelative  Prices  of  Grapefruit  F.O.B.  California  (Average  1912-1915  :=  100) 
and  All  Commodity  Index  of  Wholesale  Prices  (Average  1910-1914  —  100) 


All 

Commodities 


8 


tOCM<OCOC0O>00Oai-iU>O> 
(OOOtOlO^  ifi  (fi  <0  IT)  Tf 

rHiHCVJCMfHiH  r*  rH  t-i  i-4  «H 


uraperrult    cjih       cot-       cocoocuoo^       OrH^^to 


225 

200 

175 

t 
§150 

£  125 


75 


4 

\ 

c 

OMMODIT 

IES  - 

n 

/ 

\ 
\ 

• 

s 

\ 

\ 
\ 

I 

t 

\ 

1 

^ 

^ 

•  ^ 

^*tf' 

"^  «*^ 

/ 
/ 

4 

s 

S 

f 

GR 

^PEFRUIT 

rr~r~~ 

O  rH 

CM  CM 


in       <o 
cm       cm 

a>       en 


Fig.  5. — Grapefruit  prices  have  been  maintained  at  a  relatively  high  level 

during  the  past  three  years. 

(Data  from  table  18.) 


PRICES 


Trend  of  Prices. — The  relative  prices  of  grapefruit  f.o.b.  Califor- 
nia expressed  as  percentages  of  the  average  price  from  1912  to  1915 
are  shown  by  the  solid  line  in  figure  5.  Since  1915  there  has  been  a 
pronounced  upward  trend  in  prices.  The  rise  in  price  from  1915  to 
1920,  however,  was  more  than  offset  by  the  increase  in  the  general 
price  level  of  all  commodities,11  which  is  represented  by  the  broken 
line.  On  the  other  hand  there  has  been  practically  no  change  in  the 
general  price  level  during  the  past  seven  years;  while  there  has  been 


ii  The  Bureau  of  Labor  Statistics  all  commodity  index  of  wholesale  prices  in 
the  United  States  is  used  to  measure  changes  in  the  general  price  ls-vel. 


Bul.  463] 


GRAPEFRUIT 


21 


a  substantial  increase  in  the  price  of  grapefruit.  The  three  years 
from  1925  to  1927  have  apparently  been  the  most  prosperous  three- 
year  period  which  the  grapefruit  industry  of  California  has  had  in 
the  last  fourteen  years. 

Factors  Affecting  Prices. — The  relation  between  the  average 
annual  price  and  carlot  shipments  of  California  grapefruit  is  shown 
in  figure  6.  The  tendency  is  for  large  shipments  to  be  accompanied 
by  low  prices  and  small  shipments  by  high  prices.     The  lack  of  a 

Belation  Between  Annual  Average  Price  and  Shipments  of 
California  Grapefruit 


to 
Cars      J 

Price   w. 

CM 

t- 
to 

2.29     552 
2.47     439 
3.22     435 
3.15     549 

to 

8 

o 

• 

to 

3.60 
g3.20 

£> 

©  2.80 

fX 

&  2.40 
°  2.00 

640 
560 

480  g 

of 
o 

400 
320 

P 

RICE—,       j 

xS^r 

* 

^ 

\ 

y 

^^7 

^m  as  m 

^ 

N 

SHIPMEN 

TS 

_-^^- 

~-^~ 

— 

0 

r 

c\ 
o 

i 

•> 

C 

c 

c 

c 
c 

0 

0                                                                   C 

#                         u 

M                                  C 

r>                       c 

5                              « 
J                            c 

l>                            c 

0 
0 

c- 
c\ 

0 

0 

Fig.  6. — One  factor  affecting  the  price  of  California  grapefruit  is  the 

volume  of  shipments  from  the  state. 

(Data  from  tables  3  and  18.) 


closer  relationship  is  in  part  a  result  of  competition  of  grapefruit 
produced  in  other  areas.  During  the  winter  and  spring  months, 
California  grapefruit  meets  with  considerable  competition  from 
grapefruit  grown  in  other  states.  Consequently  the  prices  of  our 
grapefruit  are  affected  by  the  volume  of  these  other  shipments  as  well 
as  by  the  size  of  our  crop.  As  a  result  of  the  competition,  the  prices 
of  grapefruit  from  the  several  producing  states  tend  to  move  together. 
For  example,  the  fluctuations  in  the  yearly  average  prices  of  Cali- 
fornia and  Florida  grapefruit  are  generally,  although  not  always,  in 
the  same  direction. 

The  volume  of  competing  fruits  on  the  markets  also  has  an  im- 
portant effect  upon  the  price  of  grapefruit.  Oranges  are  probably 
the  most  important  single  competitor  of  grapefruit.     The  effect  of 


22 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA EXPERIMENT  STATION 


the  size  of  the  winter  orange  crop  upon  the  prices  of  Florida  grape- 
fruit12 is  shown  in  figure  7.  The  solid  line  represents  the  average 
annual  prices  of  Florida  grapefruit;  the  broken  line,  the  total  ship- 
ments of  winter  oranges.  Each  curve  is  plotted  in  percentages  of  its 
trend.  It  is  readily  apparent  that  a  high  degree  of  association  has 
existed  between  these  two  series.  When  the  winter  orange  crop  has 
been  large,  prices  of  Florida  grapefruit  have  been  low,  and  conversely 

Kelation  Between  the  Prices  op  Florida  Grapefruit  and  the  United  States 
Shipments  of  Winter  Oranges,  1924-1927 


Price 


Ship. 


to 

-* 

o 

e- 

o 

CM 

00 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

-* 

to 

00 

lO 

«H 

to 

<o 

■£  *• 

|H 

o> 

<o 

W 

^ 

.H 

a 

t-4 

•H 

t~t 

rH 

© 

to 

««*• 

o> 

to 

t~ 

eo 

u     • 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

©  t- 

o 

s 

o 

tJ* 

o> 

e^ 

a*   «h 

00 

CVJ 

o> 

c- 

00 

Fig.  7. — The  size  of  the  winter  orange  crop  has  an  important  effect  upon 

the  prices  of  grapefruit. 

(Data   compiled  from  table   8.) 


when  the  winter  orange  crop  has  been  small,  prices  of  Florida  grape- 
fruit have  been  high. 

In  fact,  during  the  period  shown  in  figure  7,  prices  of  Florida 
grapefruit  have  responded  much  more  promptly  to  changes  in  the 
supply  of  winter  oranges  than  to  changes  in  the  supply  of  grapefruit. 
This  situation  can  largely  be  accounted  for  by  two  conditions.  In 
the  first  place  there  was  a  rapid  continual  increase  in  the  shipments 
of  grapefruit  from  1920  to  1924.     Each  year  the  shipments  were 


12  Prices  of  Florida  grapefruit  rather  than  the  prices  of  California  grapefruit 
were  used  in  figure  7  for  two"  reasons :  In  the  first  place  the  Florida  grapefruit 
crop  is  very  much  larger  than  the  California  grapefruit  crop,  and  consequently 
the  prices  of  Florida  grapefruit  are  the  more  representative.  In  the  second 
place,  all  of  the  Florida  grapefruit  crop  is  shipped  at  practically  the  same  time 
as  the  winter  orange  crop  while  a  considerable  part  of  the  California  grapefruit 
crop  is  shipped  during  the  summer  months. 


Bul.  463] 


GRAPEFRUIT 


23 


larger  than  in  the  preceding  year.  Consequently  the  actual  ship- 
ments conformed  very  closely  to  the  trend  of  shipments.  In  the 
second  place  the  winter  orange  crop  is  four  times  as  large  as  the 
grapefruit  crop.  Since  the  two  commodities  are  very  close  competi- 
tors, the  crop  that  is  the  larger  tends  to  exert  the  dominant  influence 
on  the  price.  The  relationship  between  Florida  grapefruit  prices 
and  winter  orange  shipments  may  not  be  as  close  in  the  future  as  it 
has  been  in  the  past,  however.  With  the  large  increase  in  grapefruit 
shipments,  it  is  likely  that  they,  rather  than  winter  orange  shipments, 
will  have  the  dominant  influence  on  grapefruit  prices. 

TABLE  8 

Prices  of  Grapefruit  F.O.B.  Tampa,  Florida,  and  United  States  Shipments 
of  Winter  Oranges,  1920-21  to  1926-27 


Crop  year 
ending  in 

Prices 
of  Florida 
grapefruit 

Shipments 
of  winter 
oranges 

1 

2 

dollars  per  box 

1000  boxes 

1921 

2.57 

18,994 

1922 

3.77 

13,896 

1923 

2.96 

19,619 

1924 

1.86 

24,432 

1925 

3.51 

20,272 

1926 

3.58 

18,327 

1927 

2.78 

'21,382 

Source*  of  data: 

Column  1.  Weighted  average  prices  received  by  the  Florida  Citrus  Exchange 
f.o.b.  Tampa,  Florida.  Obtained  by  the  writers  from  the  California  Fruit  Grow- 
ers Exchange. 

Column  2.  Wellman,  H.  E.,  and  E.  W.  Braun.  Oranges:  series  on  California 
crops  and  prices.     California  Agr.  Exp.  Sta.  Bui.  457:34.     1928. 


The  high  prices  of  grapefruit  which  have  prevailed  since  1925 
have  been  a  result  of  abnormally  low  supplies  of  both  grapefruit 
and  winter  oranges.  Attention  has  already  been  called  to  the  reasons 
why  the  supplies  of  grapefruit  have  been  low.  The  same  conditions 
causing  the  low  grapefruit  crops  were  responsible  for  the  low  orange 
crops  in  Florida.  Since  these  conditions  are  not  likely  to  continue 
during  the  coming  years,  the  competition  from  Florida  grapefruit 
and  oranges  is  likely  to  be  very  much  keener  in  the  future  than  it 
has  been  since  1925.  Furthermore,  the  increasing  production  in 
Texas,  Arizona,  and  California  will  probably  add  considerably  to  the 
total  supplies  of  grapefruit  to  be  marketed  during  the  winter  and 
spring  months.    In  view  of  these  developments,  it  is  evident  that  the 


24 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA EXPERIMENT  STATION 


demand  for  grapefruit  will  have  to  be  increased  very  much  faster  in 
the  future  than  it  has  been  in  the  past  if  prices  are  to  be  maintained 
at  the  present  high  level. 

Seasonal  Variation  in  Prices. — The  solid  line  in  figure  8  repre- 
sents the  average  seasonal  variation  in  grapefruit  prices  during  the 
past  six  years.  It  will  be  noted  that  prices  are  relatively  high  on  the 
average  at  the  beginning  of  the  crop  year  in  October.      Then  follows 


Seasonal  Variation  in  Grapefruit  Prices  F.O.B.  California,  Average  1920-21 
to  1926-27;  Annual  1925-26  and  1926-27 

Average     cvj«d  gooocm  c-         t-         e-  <o         <4<         i-h 

1922-1927  ^  °>  oocoooo  o>  o>  o  o  #-i  cm 


1925-26 


iH  CO 

CO  CO 


1926-27 


Fig.  8. — The  prices  of  California  grapefruit  are  usually  higher  in  the 

summer  and  fall  than  in  the  winter  and  spring. 

(Data  compiled  from  table   19.) 


a  pronounced  decline  which  reaches  a  low  point  in  January.  After 
January,  prices  begin  to  rise  and  continue  irregularly  upward  during 
the  remainder  of  the  season.  During  the  past  six  years  the  prices  of 
grapefruit  from  June  to  September  have  averaged  12  per  cent  higher, 
and  the  prices  from  November  to  March,  11  per  cent  lower  than  the 
average  prices  for  the  year.  One  reason  why  prices  are  higher  in 
the  summer  is  that  only  a  very  small  supply  of  grapefruit  is  available 
for  shipment  at  that  time.  Another  reason  is  that  the  supply  of 
oranges  in  the  markets  is  relatively  light. 


Bul.  463] 


GRAPEFRUIT 


25 


UNITED  STATES   FOREIGN  TRADE 

Imports.— During  the  five  years  of  1922-23  to  1926-27  the  United 
States  imported  an  average  of  900,000  boxes  of  fresh  grapefruit  a 
year  (table  9).  Of  this  amount,  72  per  cent  was  from  Porto  Rico  and 
28  per  cent  from  Cuba.  Imports  of  fresh  grapefruit  from  Porto  Rico 
have  doubled  during  the  past  eight  years.  In  1918-19  they  amounted 
to  375,000  boxes,  in  1926-27  to  748,000  boxes. 

TABLE  9 

United  States  Production,  Imports,  Exports,  and  Per  Capita  Consumption 

of  Fresh  Grapefruit,  1918-19  to  1926-27 

(Boxes  of  60  pounds  net.) 


Crop  year 
ending  in 

U.  S. 
production 

General 
imports 

Shipments 

from 
Porto  Rico 

Domestic 
exports 

Total 
supply 

Per  capita 

con- 
sumption 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

1919.    . 

WOO  boxes 
3,511 
5,763 
5,423 
6,305 
7,564 
8,344 
8,714 
7,034 
7,731 

WOO  boxes 

WOO  boxes 
375 
413 
683 
377 
462 
719 
518 
815 
748 

WOO  boxes 

WOO  boxes 
3,886 
6,176 
6,106 
6,682 
8,065 
8,966 
9,045 
7,696 
8,090 

grapefruits 
2.4 

1920. 

3.7 

1921 

3.6 

1922 

3.9 

1923 

299 
208 
243 
252 
236 

260 
305 
430 
405 
625 

4.6 

1924 

5  0 

1925 

5.0 

1926 

4.2 

1927..  . 

4.5 

Sources  of  data: 

Column  1.     From  table  17. 

Columns  2  and  4.  U.  S.  Dept.  Commerce,  Monthly  Summary  of  Foreign  Com- 
merce of  the  United  States,  monthly  issues.     Crop  year  September  to  August. 

Column  3.  Years  1918-19  to  1920-21,  U.  S.  Dept.  Commerce,  Monthly  Sum- 
mary of  Foreign  Commerce  of  the  United  States,  monthly  issues.  Years  1921-22 
to  1926-27,  U.  S.  Dept.  Commerce,  Bureau  of  Foreign  and  Domestic  Commerce, 
by  correspondence.     Crop  year,  September  to  August. 

Column  5.     United  States  production  plus  imports  minus  exports. 

Column  6.  Supplies  available  for  consumption  converted  to  number  of  grape- 
fruit on  the  basis  of  64  grapefruits  per  box  and  divided  by  the  mid-year  estimates 
of  population  of  the  United  States  as  reported  in  the  Statistical  Abstract  of  the 
United  States. 


According  to  unofficial  reports  much  damage  was  done  to  the 
1928-29  citrus  crop  by  the  hurricane  which  swept  over  Porto  Rico 
on  September  13,  1928.  The  extent  to  which  the  trees  themselves 
were  damaged,  however,  has  not  been  reported. 


26 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA — EXPERIMENT  STATION 


The  plantings  of  grapefruit  in  Porto  Rico  have  been  fairly  heavy 
during  recent  years.  Of  the  299,000  trees  on  the  island  in  1926, 
78,000,  or  26  per  cent,  were  not  in  bearing.13 

In  addition  to  fresh  grapefruit,  considerable  quantities  of  canned 
grapefruit  are  received  from  Porto  Rico,  and  these  imports  have  also 
increased  rapidly,  particularly  during  the  past  two  years  (table  10). 
During  each  of  the  two  years  1923-24  and  1924-25  they  amounted 
to  less  than  four  million  pounds;  in  1925-26  they  amounted  to  over 
six  million  pounds;  and  in  1926-27  to  almost  ten  million  pounds. 

TABLE  10 

United  States  Receipts  of  Canned  Grapefruit  from  Porto  Rico,  by  Months, 
September,  1923  to  August,  1927 


Month 

1923-24 

1924-25 

1925-26 

1926-27 

September 

woo 

pounds 

10 

17 

59 

24 

425 

670 

373 

510 

395 

609 

191 

168 

woo 

pounds 

200 

103 

47 

53 

499 

431 

510 

784 

416 

439 

131 

7 

WOO 
pounds 

WOO 
pounds 
35 

8 

72 

November 

79 

113 

1,801 

1,611 

813 

1,180 

485 

198 

70 

70 

618 

1,136 

1,318 

1,465 

1,436 

1  582 

1,381 

July 

409 

August 

150 

Total 

3,451 

3,620 

6,349 

9,681 

Source  of  data:  U.  S.  Dept.  Commerce,  Bur.  Foreign  and  Domestic  Commerce, 
by  correspondence. 


.As  contrasted  with  the  rapid  increase  in  imports  from  Porto  Rico, 
imports  from  Cuba  have  shown  no  definite  upward  or  downward 
trend  during  recent  years.  Nor  does  it  appear  likely  that  there  will 
be  any  material  increase  in  imports  from  Cuba  during  the  coming 
years.  Practically  all  of  the  Cuban  grapefruit  is  grown  on  the  Isle 
of  Pines.  According  to  Vice-Consul  Sheridan  Talbott  at  Nueva 
(xerona,  grapefruit  production  on  the  island  has  never  been  profitable; 
considering  the  Original  investment.  As  a  result  "the  total  acreage 
of  citrus  fruit  has  been  reduced  from  about  8,000  acres  at  one  time 
to  no  more  than  1,500  acres  at  present."14 


is  U.  S.  Dept.  Agr.  Bur.  Agr.  Econ.,  Smaller  shipments  of  Porto  Bican  grape- 
fruit expected.     F.  S,  CF-30,  1926. 

nU.  S.  Dept.  Agr.  Bur.  Agr.  Econ.     Foreign  Crops  and  Markets  16(6):  159. 
1928. 


Bul.  463] 


GRAPEFRUIT 


27 


The  time  of  the  year  when  fresh  grapefruit  is  received  from  Porto 
Rico  and  Cuba  is  shown  in  table  11.  It  will  be  noted  that  although 
some  grapefruit  is  received  from  each  country  every  month  in  the 
year,  the  heaviest  receipts  are  in  September  and  October.  In  the  past 
five  years  almost  one-half  of  the  total  imports  have  come  in  during 
these  two  months. 

TABLE  11 

United  States  Eeceipts  of  Grapefruit  from  Porto  Eico  and  General 
Imports,  Average  1922-23  to  1926-27 


Volume 

Percentage 

Month 

Receipts 

from 

Porto  Rico 

General 
imports 

Total 

Receipts 

from 

Porto  Rico 

General 
imports 

Total 

boxes 
101,857 
164,333 
50,571 
19,553 
28,929 
27,193 
43,428 
53,750 
55,818 
51,664 
31,914 
23,366 

boxes 
107,561 

72,151 

10,165 
4,536 
3,478 
6,295 
7,140 
7,603 
5,171 
3,415 
2,718 

17,634 

boxes 
203,418 
236,484 
60,736 
24,089 
32,407 
33,488 
50,568 
61,353 
60,989 
55,079 
34,632 
41,000 

per  cent 

15.6 

25.2 

7.7 

3  0 
4.4 

4  2 
6.7 
8.2 
8.6 
7.9 
4.9 
3  6 

per  cent 
43  4 
29.1 
4  1 
1.8 
1.4 
2.5 
2.9 
3  1 
2.1 
1.4 
1.1 
7  1 

per  cent 
23  3 

26.3 

6.7 

2.7 

3  6 

3.7 

5.6 

6  8 

6  8 

6.1 

July  

3.8 

4.6 

Total  

652,376 

247,867 

900,243 

100.0 

100  0 

100.0 

Sources  of  data:  Compiled  from  tables  20  and  21. 


Exports. — The  United  States  exports  of  grapefruit  have  increased 
substantially  during  the  past  five  years.  In  1922-23  they  amounted 
to  only  260,000  boxes  as  against  625,000  boxes  in  1926-27,  an  increase 
of  365,000  boxes.  During  the  same  period  imports  increased  223,000 
boxes.  There  was,  therefore,  a  net  increase  in  exports  over  imports, 
of  142,000  boxes. 

Almost  one-half  of  our  total  exports  of  grapefruit  on  the  average 
is  shipped  during  the  four  months  of  February  to  May  (table  12). 
As  compared  with  the  total  carlot  shipments,  however,  exports  are 
relatively  light  during  the  winter  and  spring  months  and  relatively 
heavy  during  the  summer  months. 

The  principal  markets  for  United  States  grapefruit  are  Canada 
and  the  United  Kingdom  (table  13).  Of  our  total  domestic  exports 
of  411,000  boxes  during  the  calendar  year  of  1926,  55.5  per  cent  went 
to  Canada  and  38.4  per  cent  to  the  United  Kingdom. 


28 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA EXPERIMENT  STATION 


TABLE  12 

United  States  Domestic  Exports  of  Grapefruit,  by  Months,  September,  1922 

to  August,  1927 


Month 

1922-23 

1923-24 

1924-25 

1925-26 

1926-27 

Average  1922-23 
to  1926-27 

September 

boxes 
5,254 
17,425 
18,170 
24,369 
21,488 
27,615 
33,018 
23,964 
49,434 
12,927 
16,302 
9,570 

boxes 
11,145 
26,539 
25,205 
24,199 
23,845 
33,438 
40,966 
36,782 
28,855 
28,364 
16,017 
9,885 

boxes 
6,722 
17,391 
42,202 
28,116 
36,461 
58,896 
74,167 
67,648 
44,246 
25,235 
16,851 
11,718 

boxes 
9,721 
28,443 
31,206 
42,289 
33,295 
38,759 
55,932 
43,817 
36,212 
30,511 
39,478 
14,872 

boxes 

19,137 

14,468 

48,839 

35,842 

58,522 

66,030 

90,422 

80,067 

75,798 

69,960 

47,215 

19,143 

boxes 

10,396 

20,853 

33,124 

30,963 

34,722 

44,948 

58,900 

50,456 

46,909 

33,399 

27,173 

13,038 

per  cent 
2.6 

October 

5.2 

8.2 

7.6 

January 

8.6 

February 

11.1 

March 

14.5 

April. 

12.5 

May 

June 

11.6 

8.2 

July 

6.7 

3.2 

Total 

259,536 

305,240 

429,653 

404,535 

625,443 

404,881 

100.0 

Source  of  data:  U.  S.  Dept.  Commerce,  Monthly  Summary  of  Foreign  Com- 
merce of  the  United  States,  Monthly  issues. 

There  has  been  a  phenomenal  increase  in  the  consumption  of 
grapefruit  in  the  United  Kingdom.  Ten  years  ago,  grapefruit  was 
practically  unknown  in  that  country.  During  recent  years  it  has 
gained  steadily  in  favor.  The  total  imports  of  grapefruit  into  the 
United  Kingdom  in  1921  amounted  to  only  40,038  boxes;  by  1927 
they  had  increased  to  707,546  boxes  (table  14).  Even  now,  however, 
grapefruit  is  not  widely  consumed  in  that  country.     The  per  capita 


TABLE  13 

United  States  Exports  of  Grapefruit  by  Countries  of  Destination, 

1922-1926 


Year 
ending 
Dec.  31 

United 
Kingdom* 

Canada 

Other 
countries 

Total 

boxes 

boxes 

boxes 

boxes 

1922 

10,088 

207,233 

6,596 

223,917 

1923 

15,195 

255,182 

11,029 

281,406 

1924 

47,720 

249,097 

15,766 

312,583 

1925 

141,300 

283,190 

22,391 

446,881 

1926 

157,580 

228,430 

25,152 

411,162 

*  United  States  domestic  exports  to  the  United  Kingdom  do  not  agree  with  the  United  Kingdom 
imports  from  the  United  States  (see  table  14).  A  part  of  the  discrepancy  is  explained  on  the  basis  that 
some  of  the  grapefruit  reported  in  the  British  statistics  as  coming  from  the  United  States  is  actually 
produced  on  the  Isle  of  Pines  and  shipped  via  New  York. 

Source  of  data:  U.  S.  Dept.  Commerce,  Foreign  Commerce  and  Navigation 
of  the  United  States,  annual  numbers. 


Bul.  463] 


GRAPEFRUIT 


29 


consumption  in  1927  amounted  to  only  1  grapefruit;  whereas  the 
per  capita  consumption  in  the  United  States  was  4.5  grapefruits. 

United  States  grapefruit  has  evidently  become  firmly  established 
in  the  British  market.  During  the  past  six  years  an  increasing  pro- 
portion of  the  United  Kingdom  supplies  have  come  from  this  country. 
According  to  British  trade  statistics,  83  per  cent  of  the  grapefruit 
imports  in  1927  were  reported  as  coming  from  the  United  States,  as 
against  49  per  cent  in  1921.  Some  of  these  imports,  however,  con- 
sist of  fruit  produced  on  the  Isle  of  Pines  which  was  shipped  via 
New  York. 

TABLE  14 

Imports  of  Grapefruit  into  the  United  Kingdom  by  Country  of  Origin, 

1921-1927 


(Boxes  of  60 

pounds  net.) 

Year 
ending 
Dec.  31 

United 

States* 

Union 

of  South 

Africa 

British 
West 
Indies 

Others 

Total 

boxes 

boxes 

boxes 

boxes 

boxes 

1921 

20,910 

2,847 

10,232 

6,049 

40,038 

1922 

35,804 

11,919 

10,330 

932 

58,985 

1923 

52,623 

14,594 

19,690 

6,704 

93,611 

1924 

109,304 

18,396 

18,418 

5,766 

151,884 

1925 

233,416 

25,476 

32,866 

21,126 

312,884 

1926      • 

279,822 

24,496 

50,734 

33,397 

388,449 

1927 

584,866 

27,892 

55,408 

39,380 

707,546 

*  United  Kingdom  imports  from  the  United  States  do  not  agree  with  the  United  States  domestic 
exports  to  the  United  Kingdom  (see  table  13) .  A  part  of  the  discrepancy  is  explained  on  the  basis  that  some 
of  the  grapefruit  reported  in  the  British  statistics  as  coming  from  the  United  States  is  actually  produced 
on  the  Isle  of  Pines  and  shipped  via  New  York. 

Sources  of  data:  U.  S.  Dept.  Agr.  Bur.  Agr.  Econ.  Second  direct  shipment 
of  Florida  citrus  fruit  arrives  in  Liverpool.     F.S.  CF-53.     1928. 

The  United  Kingdom  also  receives  considerable  quantities  of  grape- 
fruit from  the  Union  of  South  Africa  and  the  British  West  Indies. 
Shipments  from  both  of  these  countries  have  steadily  increased.  It 
is  expected  that  there  will  be  a  further  substantial  increase  in  grape- 
fruit shipments  from  the  Union  of  South  Africa  during  the  next  few 
years.  In  1927  there  were  97,590  grapefruit  trees  in  that  country, 
84  per  cent  of  which  were  not  yet  in  bearing.15 

Although  there  has  been  a  substantial  increase  in  the  United  States 
exports  of  grapefruit  to  Canada,  it  has  not  been  nearly  as  large  as 
the  increase  in  exports  to  the  United  Kingdom.  During  the  two  years 
of  1922  and  1923  our  exports  to  Canada  averaged  231,000  boxes  a 


is  U.  S.  Dept.  Agr.  Bur.  Agr.  Econ.     South  African  citrus  fruit  industry  shows 
expansion.     F.S.  CF-47.     1927. 


30  UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA EXPERIMENT  STATION 

year  as  against  an  average  of  256,000  boxes  a  year  during  the  two 
years  of  1925  and  1926.  So  far  our  grapefruit  has  experienced  prac- 
tically no  competition  in  the  Canadian  markets.  According  to  the 
official  Canadian  statistics,  95  per  cent  of  the  total  imports  of  grape- 
fruit into  Canada  during  the  year  ending  March  31,  1927  were  from 
the  United  States.  The  remaining  5  per  cent  were  from  the  British 
West  Indies.16  During  recent  months,  however,  grapefruit  from  the 
British  West  Indies  have  enjoyed  a  preferential  treatment  in  the 
Canadian  markets.  Under  the  trade  agreement  of  April  30,  1927, 
between  Canada  and  the  West  Indies,  grapefruit  from  the  British 
West  Indies  is  admitted  free  of  duty  into  Canada  if  imported  by 
ship  direct  into  a  Canadian  port.  If  it  is  not  imported  direct,  the 
rate  of  duty  is  50  cents  per  100  pounds.  On  the  other  hand,  grape- 
fruit imported  into  Canada  from  the  United  States  is  dutiable  at  the 
rate  of  $1.00  per  100  pounds.17 


ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 

The  authors  of  this  bulletin  wish  to  express  their  thanks  and 
indebtedness  to  the  following  organizations  which  have  generously 
contributed  from  their  data  and  their  time :  California  Fruit  Growers 
Exchange ;  California  Cooperative  Crop  Reporting  Service ;  Bureau 
of  Agricultural  Economics,  United  States  Department  of  Agriculture ; 
Bureau  of  Foreign  and  Domestic  Commerce,  United  States  Depart- 
ment of  Commerce;  California  Farm  Bureau  Federation;  California 
Agricultural  Legislative  Committee;  Mutual  Orange  Distributors; 
and  the  Division  of  Agricultural  Economics,  University  of  California. 
Professor  Robert  W.  Hodgson,  Division  of  Subtropical  Horticulture, 
University  of  California,  Mr.  Warren  R.  Schoonover,  Extension 
Specialist  in  Citriculture,  and  the  farm  advisors  in  the  important 
grapefruit-producing  counties  have  also  furnished  much  valuable 
information. 


16  U.  S.  Dept.  Agr.  Bur.  Agr.  Econ.     The  Canadian  market  for  citrus  fruit. 
F.S.  CF-43,  1927. 

17  U.  S.  Dept.  of  Commerce,  Bureau  of  Foreign  and  Domestic  Commerce,  in 
letter  to  the  writers  dated  Sept.  14,  1928. 


Bul.  463] 


GRAPEFRUIT 


Ml 


APPENDIX   OF   TABLES 


TABLE  15 


Monthly  Carlot  Shipments  of  Grapefruit  by  States  of  Origin, 
October,  1922  to  September,  1927 


State  and  year 


California: 

1922-23 

1923-24 

1924-25 

1925-26 

1926-27*.. 
Florida: 

1922-23 

1923-24 

1924-25 

1925-26 

1926-27*.. 
Texas : 

1922T23 

1923-24 

1924-25 

1925-26 

1926-27*.. 
Arizona: 

1922-23 

1923-24 

1924-25 

1925-26 

1926-27*.. 
Total: 

1522-23 

1923-24 

1924-25 

1925-26 

1926-27*.. 


Oct. 


12 
27 
34 
30 
39 

1,331 

1,992 

1,690 

881 

533 


74 

23 
38 
41 
40 
36 

1,366 

2,058 

1,773 

959 

682 


Nov. 


42 
45 
36 
46 
74 

1,836 
2,482 
2,626 
1,942 
2,810 


16 
62 
110 
196 

15 
17 
34 
24 
15 

1,893 
2,560 
2,758 
2,122 
3,095 


Dec. 


56 
40 
48 
54 
51 

1,547 
1,573 
1,684 
1,821 
1,741 

17 

18 

33 

113 

167 

10 
16 
23 
20 
15 

1,630 

1,647 
1,788 
2,008 
1,974 


Jan. 


53 
42 
42 
47 
41 

2,513 
2,417 
2,646 
2,491 
2,590 

17 
21 
86 
54 
185 


14 
34 

26 
26 

2,599 
2,494 
2,808 
2,618 
2,842 


Feb. 


84 
21 
36 
41 
38 

1,919 
2,700 
3,382 
2,075 
2,401 

6 
35 

113 
12 

112 

22 
23 
14 
35 
30 

2,031 
2,779 
3,545 
2,163 
2,581 


Mar. 


37 
50 
43 
65 

72 

2,776 
2,789 
2,868 
2,089 
2,882 


129 

1 

10 

16 

22 

7 

47 

44 

2,835 
2,869 
3,047 
2,202 
3,008 


Apr. 


18 
39 
45 
42 
38 

2,046 
2,190 
3,508 
1,730 

2,498 


2,055 
2,241 
3,640 
1,787 
2,566 


May 


40 

23 
37 
56 
52 

1,946 
2,296 
1,435 
1,951 
1,560 


2,331 
1,478 
1,014 
1,626 


June 


15 

32 
33 
53 

72 

607 
533 
231 
205 
245 


622 
566 
267 
259 
317 


July 


29 
52 
60 
80 
50 

172 

165 

4 


201 

217 

64 

88 

56 


Aug. 


112 
44 
11 
22 
55 


34 


178 
78 
11 
22 
56 


Sept. 


54 

24 
10 
13 
21 

443 
13 
85 
20 

171 


3 
3 
12 

497 


36 


*  Preliminary  data— subject  to  revision. 

Sources   of    data:    U.    S.    Dept.    Agr.    Bur.    Agr.    Econ.,    Crops    and    Markets, 
monthly  issues,  except  for  California,  which  are  from  table  16. 


32 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA EXPERIMENT  STATION 


TABLE  16 


Monthly  Carlot  Shipments  of  Grapefruit,  California  by  Districts, 
October,  1922  to  September,  1927 


District  and  year 

Oct. 

Nov. 

Dec. 

Jan. 

Feb. 

Mar. 

Apr. 

May 

June 

July 

Aug. 

Sept 

Northern  district: 
1922-23 

cars 

cars 

cars 

cars 

cars 

cars 

cars 

cars 

cars 

cars 

cars 

cars 

1923-24  .    .    . 

1 

1924-25  . 

1925-26 

1926-27* 

2 

12 
13 
33 
26 
33 

2 

24 
32 
32 
26 
31 

2 

2 

33 
29 
30 
33 
24 

5 

1 

Central  district: 
1922-23 

45 

26 
26 
32 
12 

2 

66 
8 

22 
22 
19 

10 
4 
4 

23 
19 
26 
37 
36 

10 
9 
5 

16 
10 

4 
22 
12 
12 
26 

37 
50 
43 

65 

72 

8 

17 
19 
19 
17 

10 
15 
21 
19 
19 

8 

12 
14 
19 

5 

32 
11 
23 
34 
45 

3 
8 
3 
16 

1923-24 

5 

11 

1 
1 

17 

1924-25 

7 

1925-26 

2 

7 

1926-27* 

Southern  district: 
1922-23 

12 
24 
30 
37 

72 

29 
47 
60 

78 
50 

112 
33 
10 
21 
54 

54 

1923-24  .    . 

13 

1 

7 

1924-25 

1 

3 

1 

3 
1 
1 

6 

16 
13 
14 

26 

53 
42 
42 
47 
41 

3 

1925-26 

5 

1926-27* 

21 

Imperial  Valley: 

1922-23 

16 
13 
3 

20 
41 

42 
45 
36 
46 

74 

18 
11 
15 
20 
25 

56 
40 
48 
54 
51 

8 
9 

10 
19 
19 

84 
21 
36 
41 
38 

1923-24 

1 

6 
5 
4 
2 

18 
39 
45 
42 
38 

1924-25 

1925-26 

4 

6 

I?, 

27 
34 
30 
39 

3 
2 

40 
23 
37 
56 
52 

1 

1926-27* 

Total: 

1922-23 

15 

32 
33 
53 

72 

29 
52 
60 
80 
50 

112 
44 
11 
22 
55 

54 

1923-24 

24 

1924-25 

1925-26 

13 

1926-27* 

21 

*  Preliminary  data — subject  to  revision. 

Sources  of  data:  U.  S.  Dept.  Agr.  Bur.  Agr.  Econ.  unpublished  data  (revised) 
except  for  9  months,  January  to  October,  1927,  which  are  from:  Yoeman,  Opal  V. 
Summary  of  carlot  shipments  of  important  fruits  and  vegetables  in  California, 
Arizona,  and  Nevada,  1927.  U.  S.  Dept.  Agr.  Bur.  Agr.  Econ.,  mimeographed 
circular,  1928. 


Bul.  463" 


GRAPEFRUIT 


33 


TABLE  17 
Estimated  Commercial  Production  of  Grapefruit,  United  States,  1919-1927 


Crop  year 

ending  in 

California 

Florida 

Texas 

Arizona 

Total  U.  S. 

WOO  boxes 

1000  boxes 

1000  boxes 

WOO  boxes 

1000  boxes 

1919 

311 

3,200 

3,511 

1920 

263 

5,500 
5,100 

5,763 

1921 

304 

19 

5,423 

1922 

277 

6,000 

3 

25 

6,305 

1923 

304 

7,200 

19 

41 

7,564 

1924 

242 

8,000 

40 

62 

8,344 

1925 

242 

8,200 

208 

64 

8,714 

1926 

328 

6,500 

119 

87 

7,034 

1927 

348 

7,000 

299 

84 

7,731 

Sources  of  data: 

Florida:  U.  S.  Dept.  Agr.  Bur.  Agr.  Econ.  Market  prospects  for  citrus  fruits, 
1927-28:8,  1927  (mimeo.).  This  is  fruit  to  move  by  rail  and  boat  and  includes 
express  movement. 

California:  Compiled  by  California  Fruit  Growers  Exchange  from  reports  of 
railroads  on  carlot  loadings. 

Texas  and  Arizona:  Carlot  shipments  from  table  3  converted  to  boxes  on  the 
basis  of  400  boxes  per  car. 

TABLE  18 

Weighted  Average  Prices  Eeceived  for  Grapefruit  F.O.B.  California,  by  the 
California  Fruit  Growers  Exchange,  1911-12  to  1926-27 


F.  O.  B.  Price 

All  commodity 

Crop  year* 

Dollars  per 
packed  box 

Per  cent  of 
1912-15  average 

index  numbers 

of  wholesale 

prices 

1 

2 

3 

1911-12 

2.63 

120 

99 

1912-13 

2.55 

116 

102 

1913-14 

1.94 

88 

100 

1914-15 

1.66 

76 

101 

1915-16 

1.83 

83 

117 

1916-17 

1.91 

87 

165 

1917-18 

2.20 

100 

192 

1918-19 

2.74 

125 

206 

1919-20 

2.23 

102 

236 

1920-21 

2.37 

108 

158 

1921-22 

3.17 

144 

149 

1922-23 

2.29 

104 

158 

1923-24 

2.47 

112 

152 

1924-25 

3  22 

148 

161 

1925-26 

3  15 

144 

155 

1926-27 

3.06 

139 

149 

*  Years  1911-12  to  1918-19,  September  to  August.   Years  1919-20  to  1926-27,  November  to  October. 

Sources  of  data : 

Col.  1.     California  Fruit  Growers  Exchange. 

Col.  3.  U.  S.  Bur.  of  Labor  Statistics  index  numbers  of  wholesale  prices  of 
all  commodities  converted  to  1910-14  base,  published  in  The  Agricultural  Situa- 
tion. 


34 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA EXPERIMENT  STATION 


TABLE  19 

Average  Monthly  Prices*  per  Box  Received  for  Grapefruit,  F.O.B. 
California,  by  the  California  Fruit  Growers  Exchange, 
.  October,  1921  to  September,  1927 


Month 


October 

November. 
December.. 

January 

February... 

March 

April 

May 

June 

July 

August 

September 


1921-22 

dollars 
2.76 
2.54 
2.35 
2.27 
2.32 
2.53 
2.64 
3  20 
3.94 
3.61 
4.28 
5.77 


1922-23 


dollars 
4  44 
3.00 
2  43 
2  31 
2.60 
2.78 
2.90 
2.64 
2.30 
2.38 
1.64 
1.86 


1923-24 


dollars 
1.92 
.81 
38 
01 
50 
.35 
20 
2.07 
2.36 
2.32 
2.92 
2.86 


1924-25 


dollars 
3  10 
2.48 
2  51 
2.44 
2.58 


1925-26 


dollars 
3.75 
2.85 
2.73 
2.32 
2  52 
2.74 
3.16 
3.04 
3.19 
3.29 
3.77 
3.93 


1926-27 


dollars 


*  Prices  are  weighted  average  prices  for  grapefruit  shipped  during  the  month  shown. 

Source  of  data:   California  Fruit  Growers  Exchange. 


TABLE  20 

General  Imports  of  Grapefruit  into  the  United  States,  by  Months, 

September,  1922  to  August,  1927 

(Boxes  of  60  pounds  net.) 


Month 


September 

October 

November. 
December. 

January 

February... 

March 

April 

May 

June 

July 

August 

Total... 


1922-23 


boxes 

110,082* 

74, 684 * 

6,520 

6,050 

9,283 

19,883 

20,585 

14,174 

14,006 

7,458 

2,421 

14,153 


299,299 


1923-24 


boxes 

82,002 

62,767 

4,412 

3,231 

2,514 

3,795 

4,053 

8,498 

6,256 

1,820 

2,555 

26,297 


208,200 


1924-25 


boxes 

88,552 
101,067 

10,518 
3,458 
854 
3,941 
3,390 
2,320 
4,371 
6,623 
3,288 

14,945 


243,327 


1925-26 


boxes 
119,742 

51,831 

11,812 
3,610 
3,031 
2,136 
6,954 

12,946 
1,190 
1,155 
5,325 

32,707 


252,439 


1926-27 


boxes 

137,428 

70,403 

17,561 

6,332 

1,710 

1,720 

719 

78 

32 

19 

2 


236,072 


*  Estimated  from  the  reported  value. 

Source  of  data:  U.  S.  Dept.  Commerce.     Monthly  Summary  of  Foreign  Com- 
merce of  the  United  States,  monthly  issues. 


Bul.  463] 


GRAPEFRUIT 


35 


TABLE  21 

United  States  Receipts  of  Grapefruit  from  Porto  Rico,  by  Months, 
September,  1922  to  August,  1927 


Month 

1922-23 

1923-24 

1924-25 

1925-26 

1926-27 

boxes 
81,807 
108,375 
53,442 
21,834 
36,059 
30,783 
32,268 
24,559 
24,462 
11,153 
17,222 
19,755 

boxes 
52,459 

114,389 
22,426 
12,467 
46,177 
44,015 
67,162 
96,199 

105,277 
69,100 
54,876 
34,195 

boxes 
61,657 
170,657 
33,666 
7,082 
14,275 
19,276 
32,201 
64,647 
53,290 
33,914 
16,390 
10,916 

boxes 
141,942 
270,141 

72,760 

51,506 

46,122 

26,202 

62,470 

55,332 

46,364 
8,893      • 

12,220 

21,166 

boxes 
171,423 

158,102 

70,559 

4,876 

2,010 

15,688 

23,038 

28,011 

May 

49,697 

135,262 

July 

58,864 

30,799 

Total 

461,719 

718,742 

517,971 

815,118 

748,329 

Source   of   data:    U.    S.   Dept.   Commerce,    Bur.   Foreign   and   Domestic    Com- 
merce, by  correspondence. 


22m-12,'28 


